Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-12-28
Saved by a Demijohn.

"When | went West In '53,' said
Mr.. Cunningham to Chicago Herald
81 was past 30 years old.
I was born and raised here, and
didn't began to study law till I was
on the shady side of 80. l worked
at the business for year, and then
found myself with 800 remaining,
and with every prospect when that
was gone of eating my shirt, if I had
one left or starve. A good many
Philadephians had already gone
West, and few still left for California
every little while. went out with
party of three others-Frank Wilson,
Frederick Ermbauer and Aleck
Worrell. All four of us were poor as
church mice, scarcely able to rake and
scrape enough together to get us
ont there. All that we. depended up
on was an invincible determination to
get along somehow should we once
set foot on California soil. In Frisco
we separated, and I've never seen
anything of the others from that day
to this. For my part / worked my
way on toward Vallejo. / entered the
town in the wet season close to the
end of the year. Vallejo at that time
consisted ofabout 100 houses quarter
of the number being made up of
saloons and gambling hells. There
weren't more than 800 people in the
whole town. For all that it was as
lively PIT man and twenty.three
woman town as could be found along
the Sacramento. / had by this time
found that very few lawyers, unless
they had as much muscle as brains,
were of much use in a California
community, and had already begun
to suit myself to the circumstances.
Nevertheless / thought it would be
Just as we'll for me if looked up
what legal lights the place boosted. So
about 5 o'clock on the afternoon ofthe
day of my arrival | dropped around to
The Office of Squire Runcle, who
combined in himself the offices of
judge, coroner, and every
thing else. His office was close to
Henry Williams saloon, and not a
square from the old capitol building.
It was one roomed frame building
with window at each end. The
window jams were perforated with
bullet holes, made by the squire in
keeping order in court.
"Runcle himself was a character
close to 800 pounds, short,
red faced, looking as if he were dazed
BY constant liquor, yet sharp as a
whip, smoking pipe when he wasn't
asleep, a big-calibred revolver strapp-
ID around him at the junction of
trousers and red shirt. Squire Runcle,
when business was dull, used to sit in
IN easy chair made from sawed out
half barrel lined with hide with the
hair on. There he would sit, hours
after hours, in his barrel, wheezy, fat,
MS bulldog face red as beet, his
little eyes taking in all that passed.
The squire was the most respected of
my man in Vallejo, and Judge who'd
get more justice out of a case by dint
IF sheer horse sense than anybody
Else in California. / had introduced
myself and Squire Runcle had given
me ten minutes Of sound but profuse
advice of how to make my way in
when chorus of yells sound
I'd from up the street, and the next
minute crowd of a couple of hun
lred men came running by the office
Hang him i lynch the
yamblerp and in their midst. hands
led behind his back, lariat around
his neck, tall, middle.aged man, who
wore in his red shirt front a single
that was beauty. Although
he was nearly 300 pounds weight aud
was over so years old, fhe squire rose
from his barrel spry as boy, reached
for his gun, drew it from his belt,
,talked out and faced the lynchers.
"'What the - are you about ?
asked. he. THE man nearest him
drew back and answered T:
Hes the man that killed jim
Hoopers on the Bentcia road last
night
"'And you're going to lynch him,
hey?' inquired Squire Runcle. He
brought the revolver to bear and